But what Su Jue brought to them was real hope. After the reconstruction, there would no longer be a clear gap between the rich and the poor in this city, because the puppet's silk thread had already been wrapped around everyone.
People hold hope, create a beautiful future of their own, and are willing to become a member under the control of the Herrscher.
However, all this was a bit too shocking for Kiana. She simply took the gift from the girl blankly, looked at the girl's big blinking eyes, and asked curiously: "Did someone ask you to go to the streets to promote it? To promote that...Kiana?"
"No, Kiana saved us, and everyone likes her. Because of her, we were able to survive the disaster. Most of the people who stayed here have seen Kiana save the world with their own eyes. Sister, aren't you from here?"
"Uh, I... I just got home." While speaking, Kiana subconsciously looked in the direction of her memory, and was a little dazed for a moment.
When she came to her senses, the girl had already left. The gift in her hand was a loaf of bread with a small card on it, with a picture of the magical girl Kiana.
She originally thought that the so-called Kiana-chan was just an idol with a similar name to hers, but when she saw the picture, she was suddenly shocked because the person drawn on it was actually herself.
"What's going on? The so-called magical girl can't be me."
"No, how is it possible? Who would like a Herrscher?" He shook his head repeatedly to reject the unrealistic guess in his mind. The more likely possibility was that someone borrowed the image of the Herrscher of the Void.
As for myself, I am just an existence that is hated by others.
The bracelet on her hand absorbed the Honkai energy that Kiana unconsciously spread, allowing her to walk into the city safely. As long as the contact time was not too long, it would not have any impact on ordinary people.
Kiana was a little worried, and she left quietly only after she confirmed that the girl who had been close to her was normal. Although [Kiana] had told her the function of the bracelet, she still didn't want to drag others into danger.
Smoke rose from the street stalls, but unfortunately Kiana couldn't smell anything. Walking alone in the shadows, Kiana subconsciously looked at the bread in her hand.
Her hungry body urged her to eat quickly. After struggling for a long time, she finally put the bread into her mouth.
You can't taste it, but it's better than any meal.
Looking at this emerging city from afar, Kiana still felt a strong sense of loneliness, because there was no place for her in this city.
Following the route she remembered, Kiana returned to the suburbs of East City again.
The abandoned and relocated houses have been put into use again, and every household is brightly lit.
Kiana walked under the dim street lights, passed through the deep alleys, and came to the original location.
She longed for a place where she could rest in this light.
but.
Thousands of lights are as bright as stars, except for one that is silent and empty.
When the world falls into darkness, there is a lonely lamp to light up for yourself.
When time awakens the light, the person who illuminates the way for oneself is no longer there.
Unspeakable sadness surged in her heart. Kiana pushed open the door of the row house and walked slowly to the familiar door.
Tuk Tuk.
She knocked on the door, but there was no response.
Standing alone in front of the door, like a homeless child.
Turning around and leaning against the door, Kiana's body gradually lost strength and slid down. She sat on the ground with her hands on her knees, burying her cheeks deeply in them.
Tears slid down my cheeks and wet my clothes.
The barely audible sobbing sounded in the corridor, like a wandering ghost in the dark night.
Click.
Just when Kiana was secretly sad, she felt a slight sensation behind her and the door was opened.
"Su..." He turned around suddenly and saw not the gray-haired boy, but a red-haired woman.
The woman seemed to have just woken up. She looked at Kiana sitting on the ground and asked in confusion, "Who are you?"
Her breathing became stagnant, and Kiana looked at the woman in disbelief, stretching out her hand tremblingly.
"Himeko...Sensei?"
However, the woman shook her head and replied: "I am not a teacher. You may have recognized the wrong person."
The current Himeko has changed into a doll's body, and her appearance is no longer the same as before. Although some features are still retained, the difference between the two can be distinguished if you look closely.
Because of this, after a brief moment of surprise, Kiana fell silent again. The ups and downs of her mood made her dizzy.
She struggled to get up and looked apologetic, "Sorry, I went the wrong way."
"Wrong way?" Ji Zi suppressed the pity in her heart and pretended not to know Su Jue as Su Jue instructed.
She showed an expression of sudden enlightenment and said to Qiana, "You are here to look for Su Jue, right? He has left now, but his things are still here. If you are here to look for him, you can stay here for a while."
After saying that, Jizi took Kiana's hand and led her into the room. As a teacher, she couldn't let her students wander alone late at night.
This reminded her of the night when she was kicked out of the house, and she secretly complained about Su Jue in her heart. This arrogant Herrscher really knew that Kiana would come, so she hurriedly sent herself over from Delta.
The room was still the same as before, even the books that Kiana had helped move were still piled in the corner, and everything seemed to have returned to the way it had been.
But, it changed after all.
That skinny boy became the Herrscher of Fire, and all those past times became nothing.
"Please sit here for a while. I'll go get you a glass of warm water."
Kiana was about to decline, but Jizi had already gone to the kitchen, leaving her alone with her memories.
The things placed on the table against the wall were clean, as if someone had been cleaning it.
The photo frame was lying on the table. Kiana hesitated for a moment and then picked it up.
The photo showed Su Jue, his mother and Taxue. The boy was smiling so brightly that a look of relief appeared on Kiana's face.
But when she touched the boy in the photo with her fingers, she finally sighed.
Everything has become the past. The boy lost everything, even himself.
There are dark red marks on the back of the photo frame. Is that blood?
In silence, Kiana closed her eyes in pain, not daring to think any further.
Chapter 178
"The child has never been in good health." The voice came from behind. Kiana trembled and quickly put down the photo frame in her hand.
"Feel sorry."
"Why are you apologizing? Aren't you here for him?" Jizi walked to Kiana with a cup of water and handed her one of the cups of warm water.
"I..." Kiana's tone paused and she became silent.
Reaching out and taking the photo that Kiana had put down, Jizi looked at the boy in the photo and sighed softly.
"Before he left, he contacted me and said there was a girl who might come back to see him, so I'm here."
Jizi wiped the dust off the photo and put the photo frame back to its original position.
"He... knew I would come here?" Kiana's lips trembled slightly and her breathing became rapid.
"Yes, after all, a lost child always needs someone to light the way home for her, otherwise she will be lost in the endless darkness."
Ji Zi took a sip of the warm water in the cup and said with some emotion: "These are his original words. At that time, I didn't know what happened, but on the second day, the entire Sky City turned into a sea of fire. At that time, I realized that he had already prepared to sacrifice himself."
"Although I don't know what kind of relationship you have, if you are the one he is waiting for, you'd better figure out your own thoughts first. That child never tells others what he thinks, and will only bear everything silently by himself, but as his elder, I need to understand what others think of him."
"Your eyes tell me that you are confused at the moment, and you can't even recognize the position of Su Jue in your heart."
She fixed her eyes on Kiana's face, looking at the tired look of the girl, and seeing that she was covered in wounds due to Honkai. Jizi wanted to ignore Su Jue's request, hug her in her arms, and comfort her.
But I don't know what's wrong with this Herrscher that he has to make me ask Kiana what she thinks first. I also don't know when the conflict between the two of them occurred.
Faced with Ji Zi's question, Kiana wanted to answer immediately, but the moment she opened her mouth, she hesitated again.
During the period of recuperation, she had thought of going out to look for Su Jue several times. She could clearly feel that Su Jue was special to her.
She had never experienced this kind of emotion before, and she kept searching for answers.
It was not out of nostalgia for Mr. Jizi, nor was it a despicable thought to treat him as a substitute. It was not out of friendship or cherishment for a partner. It was a special feeling that was different from everyone else.
However, when [Kiana] stood in front of her and questioned her, Kiana could not give any answer.
He is special, but what does that mean to him?
For other normally growing girls, when they are at the age of beginning to fall in love, they can have peers around them as references and parents and elders to guide them.
But for Kiana, those were all out of reach, and no one had ever taught her about her own feelings. Therefore, she actually never realized the nature of this ignorant emotion.
She returned to Sky City, not only to make it the end of her life, but also to seek answers.
And now, after learning that Su Jue had been waiting for him a long time ago, the answer seemed to become clear, but it was still shrouded in thick white fog.
"I didn't know that I had committed an unforgivable sin against him. I had unintentionally destroyed everything he had. Now I long to take him back to myself, but whenever I think of those things, I lose all my courage."
Kiana looked at the cup of water in her hand painfully. If she was just an ordinary girl, she could find the answer through time even if she was confused. However, what she lacked most now was time. Her body was gradually getting cold like this cup of warm water.
She desperately wanted to confirm her thoughts before the countdown of her life ended, so that she would have the courage to do everything she could to bring him back from the hands of fate.
Looking at the confused Kiana, Ji Zi sighed slightly. Although she had not been in contact with Su Jue for a long time, judging from the recent tasks she had received, Su Jue had always had a good impression of Kiana.
The Herrscher looked cold and unapproachable, but after he was captured, Jizi got to know him better.
After Su Jue fell into Tianming's hands, Ji Zi was the only one living here.
There are many traces of Su Jue's life in the old room. Without Su Jue's obstruction, Ji Zi finally has the opportunity to explore the secrets hidden in time.
By piecing together these fragmented clues, the image of Su Jue in her mind gradually became clearer. However, after understanding him, Ji Zi could no longer simply regard him as a Herrscher as before. He was more like a child covered in scars, stubbornly hiding his wounds under his clothes.
So when she saw the confused Qiana, she thought of Su Jue. Both children were poor people teased by fate. Now they have finally redeemed each other, but they dare not accept their own ideas because of their lack of understanding of feelings.
It's like two injured hedgehogs licking each other's wounds, longing for each other's warmth. But when they get close to each other, the thorns on their bodies will pierce each other's bodies, causing deeper injuries.
"So you don't dare to face him because of your own guilt, or are you confused because you can't recognize your own feelings? But before thinking about this question, I want to ask you, what kind of feelings do you have for him?"
"……I have no idea."
"If I'm not mistaken, what's bothering you is probably not simple guilt, but the denial of your self-worth. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so entangled in this kind of problem." Ji Zi sighed and continued, "You don't have to think so complicated. He is actually a very simple child. If he really hated you for what you did, he would never have left a message asking me to wait for you."
Having said that, if Kiana really wants to forget the mistakes she has made and get along with the victim as if nothing happened, she will not be Kiana anymore.
"From the beginning to the end, all he wanted was a definite answer. He never thought of anything in return for all he did for you. But the person who tied the bell must untie it. Since you can't see clearly your feelings for Su Jue, why don't you try to meet him in person?"
Chapter 179 Eavesdropping
In the long night, Kiana had the thought of saving him more than once. But the collapse was like a cancer on the bone, peeked at her consciousness and ate away at her body.
Whenever she relaxed her mind in the slightest, she would hear the cold laughter of the Herrscher of the Void.
Even though he and Mei had received treatment from that mysterious force for a period of time before, he still found it difficult to suppress the increasing concentration of Honkai energy in his body.
Now it has gotten out of control, and even Anti-Entropy, which has the world's top scientists, is powerless to do anything about it.
Every second, she could feel her body weakening, and her control over Honkai energy gradually disappearing. She was like a bomb whose fuse had burned out, and she didn't know when it would explode.
"I don't have time anymore." Kiana's voice was filled with deep fatigue and she had a bitter expression.
Jizi frowned. According to the information she knew, the Honkai energy in Kiana's body should still be within the controllable range.
She put down the cup and grabbed Kiana's wrist. When she saw the dense wounds under her sleeves, a trace of heartache flashed in her eyes.
"You, absorbed all the Houkai energy from that bomb into your body?"
Kiana was a little nervous when her wrist was grabbed. She pulled her hand back and nodded slightly.
"Too reckless!" When Kiana sent the bomb into the sky, Himeko appeared beside her, but quickly returned to the Domination Theater.
Sending the bomb into the sky was already a very kind thing to do, but I didn't expect that Kiana would forcibly absorb the energy in order to completely control the spread of Honkai energy.
"You sit here for a while, I'll find some medicine for you." Fortunately, before Ji Zi came back here, Su Jue had prepared some potions for her. She thought they were inhibitors left for her by the Herrscher, but she didn't expect them to be for Kiana.
Looking at Himeko's departing figure, Kiana's memory became hazy, and she subconsciously overlapped that back figure with Himeko of Wuliangta. For a moment, she couldn't tell whether it was reality or an illusion.
Familiar concern, familiar care.
She seemed to have returned to the time when she was in Saint Freya. Whenever she got injured in a battle with a Honkai beast, Jiko would take care of her like this.
"Is it my imagination?"
The dizziness in her head became stronger and stronger. The long journey had exhausted all of Kiana's strength. The answer she was looking for was finally answered by Jizi, and then darkness fell, and the whole person fainted.
……
She could not feel any pain or breathing, only the faint sounds coming from her ears gradually awakened Kiana's consciousness.
